The 11-Institution Journey: A Plain-Language Guide to the GBV Justice System

When a woman reports GBV in Kenya, she begins a journey through up to 11 separate institutions. She carries the case herself. At each institution, she retells her account from the beginning. Most cases die at the handoffs — not at the decisions.

This is not a guide to discourage reporting. It is a guide to prepare you for what reporting actually looks like — and to make clear what Dada Salama exists to do.

The Chain

• 1. Police Gender Desk — file your report, get an OB (occurrence book) number. This is the entry point. Without the OB number, there is no case. The Gender Desk officer's attitude, availability, and training varies by station.
• 2. Government Hospital — P3 form. Medical documentation of physical injuries. Legally supposed to be free. In practice, most hospitals charge ~KES 1,500. Without the P3, there is rarely a prosecution.
• 3. GVRC / private medical provider — an alternative route for the P3 if you can access it and the court accepts it. Not universally accepted without objection.
• 4. Victim Support Unit (VSU) — psychosocial support within the police service. Exists at some stations, not all. Quality varies.
• 5. Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) — if the police fail you, mishandle your case, or conduct themselves improperly. A rights backstop, not a primary route.
• 6. Legal Aid — if you cannot afford a lawyer. Access depends on geography and NGO presence. Not universal.
• 7. Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) — decides whether to charge the perpetrator. Has full discretion. Can decline on resource grounds. This is the second-most common point at which cases die.
• 8. Magistrate's Court — filing, mention, hearing. Multiple dates. Multiple retelling. Time from filing to hearing can exceed 14 months.
• 9. High Court — if the case is escalated (murder, grievous harm cases can start here).
• 10. Witness Protection Agency — if your safety is at risk during prosecution. Rare, under-resourced.
• 11. Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) — redress if your rights have been violated at any stage in the process.

Where Cases Die

Most GBV cases in Kenya do not fail at trial. They fail before they get there. The four most common dropout points:

• The P3 fee — KES 1,500 is a month's food budget for many Kenyan women. No fee, no P3. No P3, no prosecution.
• Police gender desk capacity — untrained officers, absent officers, busy desks, hostile reception. The first interaction determines whether there will be a second one.
• ODPP discretion — overloaded prosecutors with finite time. GBV cases are complex. They get declined.
• Survivor withdrawal — 11 institutions, 11 retellings, 14-month wait. Many women withdraw. This is recorded as a failed prosecution. It is not.

“She waited 14 months for her case to reach court. She retold her story nine times to strangers. At the end, the file was lost.”

Composite of survivor accounts, Silencing Women Project

What Dada Salama Does

Dada Salama is the connective tissue that has never existed in this chain. It does not replace the institutions — it maps them, prepares you for each one, and connects you to people who know how to navigate each step. A lawyer at step 6. A GVRC contact at step 3. An IPOA case officer if step 1 goes wrong.